LOVE vs HATE 2: It's All Greek to Twilight
by Owennumber1fan
Summary: L.O.V.E heads to the Canadian city of New Olympia to prevent Chrysalis from recruiting a new member. There they meet a group of 7 teens whose foe, Cronus, is the new villain she seeks to recruit. The two must join forces to stop their foes before both are destroyed.
1. Welcome to New Olympia

L.O.V.E vs. H.A.T.E #2

"It's All Greek to Twilight"

In an unknown location, amidst some ruins, the evil god Cronus was mulling over his recent woes.

"How is it that I, the mighty god of time, have failed to vanquish a group of mere mortals?" he asked, "it seems no matter what I throw at them, those accursed teenagers always find a way to survive! There must be something that can stop them."

"Perhaps I can be of assistance," a voice from nearby said.

"What? Who's there?" Cronus asked, willing one of his scythes into his hand "Athena, is that you? How'd you find me?"

Cronus looked on as the source of the voice emerged from the shadows. It was a four legged animal with black skin, a jagged horn, evil green eyes and spindly legs filled with holes; long turquoise hair fell from its head.

"Who, or what, are you?" he asked.

"I'm someone who has a proposition for you," Chrysalis replied "one that will help rid you of your enemies. Are you interested?"

"And just why are you so willing to help me out? What do you gain from it?"

"That can wait; do you want to hear what I have to say, or not?"

Cronus pondered a few seconds, then smiled "perhaps we can do business, if you can deliver what you say."

"Oh I assure you, when I'm finished, those teen shall trouble you no further."

* * *

As this nefarious deal was being brokered, a car was making its' way to New Olympia, a small obscure city in Canada. Few people knew the denizens of the car were on a mission, and even fewer still would know precisely who they were.

"Oh, this is so unpleasant!" Rarity whined from the backseat she shared with Pinkie Pie "I cannot believe that you use these horrid things to get around!"

"Sorry but they weren't really thinking about how to accommodate ponies when they built this," Ben explained from the driver's seat.

"I should say not!" Rarity replied angrily "these seats, while quite soft admittedly, are difficult to sit on; and do not get me started on the speed!"

"Aw, I think it's super neato," Pinkie replied.

"Oh, how I envy Twilight & Rainbow," Rarity said dramatically "their wings mean they can soar gracefully through the sky and not have to be trapped in this accursed vehicle."

"If it helps, we'll be reaching our destination soon," Spider-Man told her.

"Oh I suppose I can stick it out," Rarity said "but I simply cannot wait to stretch my legs; all four of them."

Meanwhile, above the commotion, Twilight Sparkle & Rainbow Dash were flying, trying to keep up with their allies below.

"Man, this is some awesome scenery, huh Twi?" Rainbow asked, before noticing the princess seemed distracted "uh Twilight, you okay?"

"Oh, sorry Rainbow," Twilight apologized "my mind was on something else."

"So what else is new?"

Twilight frowned upon hearing that "anyway, I was worried about this Cronus guy. We weren't able to find any information on him; all I know is, that if Chrysalis wants to recruit him, he must be dangerous."

"Relax, we can handle him," Rainbow said confidentially "in case you haven't noticed, we have new allies now, with like, amazing powers!"

"I know," an unsure Twilight replied "and yet, I still have this feeling that even they might not be enough."

"Look, just don't think about that, okay?" Rainbow told her "why don't you try focusing on all this neat scenery?"

"It is rather gorgeous," Twilight said, admiring the city from the air.

"There ya go," Rainbow told her "oh yeah, um, how are we gonna get around the city anyway? A couple of ponies like us should stick out like a sore hoof."

"Not to worry, I have it all taken care of," Twilight replied, smirking confidentially.

* * *

A few moments later….

"A little mask?" Rainbow said, holding the grey mask that Twilight had just handed her "uh, how about something that will hide the rest of me besides my face."

"Actually, It's called an "ID Mask"; Mr. Max gave them to me," Twilight explained "when you activate it, it can make you look like whomever you want."

"Oooh, let me try!" Pinkie said happily, and activated the mask, transforming into Twilight "hey it works! Look Twilight, I'm you! 'blah blah blah, books, blah blah blah studying, blah blah blah, Star Swirl the Bearded, blah blah…'" Pinkie said, imitating Twilight badly.

"Ha ha, very funny," Twilight replied, "first off, I don't talk about Star Swirl the Bearded that much, even if he is the greatest pony wizard to have ever lived. Secondly, I was hoping we could use the masks to assume human disguises, allowing us to blend in with the locals."

"I'm not sure darling," Rarity said nervously "trade in my gorgeous pony form for an unattractive human one?"

"Hey, I've transformed into one magically, I know what it's like," Twilight told her "and anyway, the mask only projects the image of a different form, you'll still be yourself underneath. At least, that's how it was explained to me."

"Might be cool I guess," Rainbow said "and if keeps people from looking at us, I guess we can try it."

"Then lets do it," Twilight said, and each pony activated their ID Mask; soon, instead of four ponies, four human girls with odd skin tones stood in their place.

"A mirror, somepony hand me a mirror!" Rarity shouted. Pinkie pulled one from her hair and handed it to her. "Oh my goodness!" Rarity exclaimed "even as a human I look gorgeous!"

"Not bad, although I'm not sure I can get used to these, what are they called again?"

"Fingers," Twilight explained.

"Yeah; I guess they're better than hooves for picking up stuff, but it still feels weird," Rainbow continued.

"Okay, now that we're done with that, can we get started?" Ben asked.

"Agreed, we need to find Chrysalis and stop her from making a deal with this Cronus person," Twilight said "oh, but where should we start looking?"

"Knowing bad guys, as I do, they'll probably launch an attack on the city," Ben said "I say we wait until they do, then wrap em up."

"Then I guess we wait," Twilight said.

"In that case darling, do you think we could head into town for just a bit to do some shopping?" Rarity asked "this new body of mine needs some new clothes."

"Um Rarity, it's not real; it's just an illusion caused by magic… I think," Twilight told her.

"Oh pooh."

* * *

After what seemed like several minutes, our heroes were no closer to locating the villains.

"Is anypony besides me bored?" Rainbow asked.

"I'm sorry you're bored Rainbow Dash, but there's nothing we can do," Twilight explained "until Chrysalis or her forces make a move, our hooves are tied."

"I don't say this very often, but I almost hope they do attack something," Ben said "I'm looking for some action."

"You might get your wish," Spidey told him "my spidey sense is tingling, and it seems to be coming from around here."

"There's not much here, except for that park," Randy noted.

"Then that's probably where the trouble is," Spidey told him "let's check it out."

* * *

In the New Olympia park, a group consisting of Lord Hater, Dr. Octopus and Tiger Claw had ambushed a group of teens that had been relaxing there. Thankfully for them, these were no ordinary teens.

"Who in the heck are these guys, and what is their problem with us?" Neil asked, as he ducked to avoid a lightning blast from Lord Hater.

"I'm not sure," Jay said, "they don't look like any mythical creatures."

"Maybe Cronus is outsourcing," Herry suggested jokingly.

"Well whoever they are, they obviously singled us out," Jay replied "and that can't be good."

"In case anyone hasn't noticed, there's only three of them and six of us," Archie pointed out "okay, counting Neil."

"Hey, I'm important!" Neil replied indignantly.

"Archie's right; we've got the numbers advantage, I say we use it," Atlanta noted.

"Okay, but be careful of the four-armed guy, he could be trouble," Jay told the others.

Archie & Atlanta then decided to tag team Doc Ock.

"What do they call you, 'Doctor Octopus'?" Atlanta asked jokingly.

"I see my reputation proceeds me."

"Really? I was just joking," Atlanta said "I mean, I guess there's not much else they could call you, what with the four arms and everything."

"Scoff all you want, but you won't be so cocky when I'm finished with you," Ock said, and shot out one of his arms, but the girl surprised him by easily dodging it.

"Is that seriously the best you can do?" Atlanta asked him "cause if it is, this is gonna be over really fast."

Ock grunted in anger and shot off two more of his arms, but she avoided them with her superspeed. Another tentacle shot at her, but she rolled to avoid it and used her wrist-mounted crossbow to fire a few energy bolts at him.

"Aaah!" Ock yelled, sending his metal arms to his goggles; taking advantage of the momentary distraction, Archie released his Hephaestus Whip and wrapped it around one of the other tentacles, easily slicing it in half.

"What? That's impossible!" Ock said, bewildered "no one has ever been able to destroy one of my tentacles like that!"

"Just lucky I guess," Archie said "now, I suggest you surrender unless you want to find yourself with three more missing limbs."

In another part of the park, Jay was using his sword to avoid Tiger Claw's.

"I am impressed, you have proven to be a worthy opponent," the feline mercenary replied "unfortunately for you, I have more than one trick up my sleeves," he added, reaching into his holster to pull out his freeze ray.

"Oh no you don't!" Theresa said, and used her nunchucks to knock the weapon to the ground. Then, she flipped and kicked the villain in the face, knocking him to the ground.

"Nice work," Jay commented.

"Hey, you didn't think I was going to let you have all the fun," Theresa replied.

At that moment, the L.O.V.E members had arrived nearby, and were surprised to find the group of teens had easily handled the H.A.T.E forces.

"Looks like we were too late," Spidey commented "someone took care of the bad guys for us."

"That group of teens most likely," Twilight said "hmm, I wonder how they were able to do so."

"Who cares? One of them is still standing, and I want a crack at him!" Rainbow said, rushing towards the area.

"Rainbow, wait! Come back here!" Twilight yelled.

By the kids, Herry had pounded the ground, knocking down Lord Hater and then grabbed the skull-faced villain by his robe.

"Okay buddy, start talking," he said "where did you come from and what did Cronus want with you?"

"Aww man, is the fun over already?" Rainbow asked, causing all the teens to look at her.

"Who are you?" Jay asked.

"Name's Rainbow Dash," she replied "but I'm more concerned about how you managed to take down these guys. Do you have superpowers or something?"

"I don't see how that's any of your business," Atlanta told her.

Taking advantage of the distraction, Hater zapped Herry with his electricity, then slipped from the strong teen's grasp.

"Hater rules!" he said, as he ran off towards the woods.

"After him!" Jay ordered.

"No worries, I got this," Rainbow said cockily and began running after Hater. However, both his allies had also recovered and Doc Ock used one of his remaining tentacles to knock her against a tree.

Seeing this, the teens raced after the villains, but Tiger Claw produced a handheld device from his belt; "we shall meet again, and next time, things will be different," he said, before throwing it down, emitting a cloud of smoke.

When the smoke cleared, the villains had disappeared.

"Oh man, they got away!" Atlanta said angrily.

"You heard them, they said they'd meet us again," Jay told her "right now, we need to make sure that girl is okay."

"Um, Jay, you might want to see this," Neil said, gesturing nearby.

The teen headed over to where he was gesturing and were surprised. For, in front of the tree where the girl had been sent, a blue furred Pegasus with a rainbow mane and odd symbol on her hip, was rubbing her head with one of her forelegs.

"Ooh man, that guys packs a punch," Rainbow said, unaware she had reverted to her true form, before noticing the teens looking at her "um, what?"

* * *

Next time: The kids take their new allies back to Olympus High and the two groups find themselves sharing similarities that allow them to bond.


	2. New, Yet old, Friends

"Well, that's something you don't see every day," Neil commented.

"What are you guys staring at?" Rainbow asked, until she looked down and noticed she was back to normal "yeah okay, I'm a Pegasus who can talk. You gonna freak out or something?"

"Actually, we've seen Pegasi before," Archie told her "you're just the first one that we've seen that was blue and could talk."

"Wait, what do you mean you've seen Pegasi before?" Rainbow asked.

"Rainbow, there you are!" Twilight's voice called out from nearby. Rainbow craned her head to see the others heading down toward her.

"Are you happy now? Thanks to your reckless actions, you exposed yourself!"

"It's cool Twilight, these kids say they've seen Pegasi before," Rainbow told her.

"You have?" a confused Twilight asked.

Jay nodded "let's just say we have a little more experience with strange things than you might think. And the fact that you know this Pegasus makes me think there's more to you than what we can see."

"Well, I guess we can trust you," Twilight said "okay girls, back to normal."

With that, the three deactivated their ID masks and reverted to their true pony selves.

"Ah, I'm so glad to be back to my normal lovely self," Rarity commented "that disguise was okay, but I don't know how you can stand walking on your hind legs all the time."

"Okay, this is weird," Neil commented "we've got multicolored horses that can talk and have strange tattoos on their sides, plus a ninja, a guy in a superhero costume and…just a kid, I guess."

"Oh, I'm more than an average kid," Ben said.

"Alright, I think the most important question is, what are you doing here?" Atlanta asked.

So Twilight explained about the founding of L.O.V.E and Chrysalis' evil plans.

"What I don't get is why those villains would attack you; they're our enemies."

"I think I know why; Cronus," Jay replied.

"Who?"

"Kind of a long story," Jay told her "but since it's clear we're on the same side, I think we can trust you with it."

"Come on, we'd better get back to the school before those rejects from a sci-fi convention come back," Herry suggested.

"Good idea," Jay said, then turned to the others "you're welcome to come with us."

"We'd be happy to," Twilight said "it sounds like we need to compare notes and plot our next move."

"Man, Odie is gonna be surprised when he sees what we're coming back with," Neil commented, as the two groups of heroes headed off.

* * *

A few moments later, they arrive back at Olympus High School, and the kids used their medallions to open the secret part of the school.

"So let me get this straight; you guys are the descendants of some heroes from like, long ago, and your mission is to defeat this Cronus guy?" Rainbow asked.

"That's pretty much it, yeah," Jay told her.

"That is so awesome!" Rainbow replied "I wish I was descended from a cool hero."

"Well if this Cronus is half as bad as you said, we need to stop him and Chrysalis from joining forces as soon as possible," Twilight added.

"But how? We don't even know where they are." Archie asked.

"Maybe not, but we might be able to find out," Jay said, as they entered the main part of the school.

"Hey guys," Odie said, greeting his friends, before noticing the odd characters behind them "brought home some new…friends, I see."

"It's a long story," Archie told him.

"Get Hera, she's going to want to hear this," Jay told the nerdy boy.

A few moments later, Hera, the great matriarch of the Greek gods had been summoned and met the new arrivals.

"I am honored to make your acquaintance," Hera told them "you may have free run of the school, while I decide what to do about the current situation that has brought you here."

"Thank you very much," Twilight said, bowing in respect "I promise we shall treat this place with the utmost respect. Right everyone?"

"Uh huh," "yeah," "sure," came the responses.

"Very well then, please let me know if you need anything else," Hera told her "for now, Jay and the others will attend to you."

"You mean we have to spend our day catering to some weird humans and a bunch of ponies?" Neil asked.

"Hey, can't be any worse than most of the things we deal with," Archie said.

With that, the heroes split off to explore the school. Twilight opted to hang back, as something was on her mind.

 _The design of this place is very similar to buildings in Equestria, what with the large columns and all_ she thought _and why weren't those kids freaked out by Rainbow? They said they've encountered Pegasi before, but how is that possible?_

"Hey," Twilight turned and noticed Theresa coming up to her.

"Oh hello," Twilight replied "it's Theresa, right?" she asked, as the redhead nodded in confirmation. "I know this is going to sound weird, but you sound quite similar to somepony I know."

"Oh, who's that?"

"My student, Starlight Glimmer," Twilight explained "I regret not bringing her along; I'm sure there is much she could've learned here."

"Oh yes, I've learned far more than I wanted to since I started going here," Theresa replied, slightly joking "so anyway, I believe you mentioned you were a princess back in your world. That must be interesting."

"It can be, but some days it's also a lot of work," Twilight said "but, I love helping my fellow ponies."

"I understand, sometimes the whole 'hero' thing can be kind of a grind," Theresa told her "I mean, I realize it's supposed to be my destiny and everything, but there are times when I just want to be a normal teen, you know? Well, maybe you don't."

"No I understand; if somepony had told me it was my destiny to one day be a princess, I'd have thought they were as crazy as Pinkie Pie," Twilight replied "but the one thing I've learned is, you may not be able to control your destiny, but you can shape it."

"What do you mean?"

"When I became a princess, it wasn't what I planned, but I didn't let it change who I was; rather, I use my position as princess to help the ponies of Equestria, and to help spread knowledge and friendship. You may not like having to save the world, but I'm sure you can find a way to work it to your advantage."

"Wow thanks Twilight, that actually helped," Theresa told her.

"That's what I do," Twilight said "by the way, I was curious about how you kids have met Pegasi before; I've never heard of any of them leaving Equestria."

"Well I've never heard of a land of colored ponies before," Theresa replied "I always thought that Pegasi came from ancient Greece."

"Hmm, I think I need to do some research on this," Twilight mused, rubbing her chin with her hoof "is there…"

"A library? Yeah, come on, I'll take you there."

"Oh goodie, I love libraries!"

"A pony princess who likes libraries? This is truly the weirdest thing I've ever seen," Theresa commented.

* * *

Meanwhile, Rarity had wandered off into Neil's room.

"Oh my goodness, this room, it's so…stylish!"

"Thank you for noticing; my friends never seem to," Neil said "though I am surprised a unicorn can understand style."

"Where I come from, I am a very successful fashion designer," Rarity explained "I run two boutiques, and I'm thinking of adding a third."

"Fashion huh? But, you're not wearing any clothes."

"Just because we ponies do not wear clothes all the time does not mean we do not dress up for the occasion," Rarity replied, swinging her mane to make her point "we are not barbarians!"

"Okay, jeez, somebody's a little testy," Neil said.

"Terribly sorry; it's not proper for a lady to raise her voice like that," she replied.

"No, believe me, I understand; I'm a bit of a fashion icon myself," Neil explained.

"Oh yes, I can tell," Rarity said, looking in the blonde boy's closet "you have almost as many wonderful clothes as I do" she added, using her horn to levitate one of the garments over to her "good fabric, fine stitching," she added, examining it "this is marvelous! Wherever did you get it?"

"I just buy them," Neil admitted

"Oh, idea!"Rarity commented "why don't I design an outfit for you?"

"Really? But I'm not a pony."

"True, your proportions are…different than what I'm used to. But, a good fashion designer must learn to adapt to any challenge! Besides, someone as fashionable as you will appreciate my designs all the more."

"That sounds good, but I should mention, I'm a little light on cash right now."

"Not to worry darling; for someone as fashionable as you, I shall make it for free."

"Oh, well okay then," Neil said, "wow, I never would've guessed that I'd meet a magical talking unicorn that makes clothes."

"And I never thought I'd meet a 'human' who was into fashion as much as I am," Rarity said "perhaps we aren't so different after all."

"Well, except that we don't have horns or wings, or walk on all fours," Neil commented.

"Yes, there is that, I suppose."

* * *

Elsewhere in the school, Atlanta showed off the training course to Rainbow.

"Whoa, you guys got a really awesome course here," Rainbow said "you use all this stuff?"

"Sometimes," Atlanta replied "I really like that hair of yours; the rainbow coloring is neat."

"Thanks, I like your hair too."

"So, what exactly to you do? Do you have like, a job or something?"

"Eh, I mostly help the other Pegasi with the weather in Ponyville," Rainbow explained "but my ultimate goal is to be a member of the Wonderbolts. Right now, I'm just on the reserves, but I'm hoping they'll soon have a spot open for me on the main team."

"The Wonderbolts?"

"They're Equestria's best team of Pegasus fliers! I've wanted to be part of them for years. I figure they'll take me because I'm probably the fastest flier in Equestria; well, as far as I know, anyway."

"Oh really?" Atlanta asked, with a smirk "You know, I'm pretty fast myself."

"You? You don't even have wings, how fast could you possibly be?" Rainbow asked.

Atlanta smirked and took off down the race track in the room as quickly as her speed would allow. The blue Pegasus watched in shock, her jaw dropping, as she saw the human girl run nearly as quick as her.

After showing off, Atlanta ran over to the still stunned Rainbow "I'd say, that fast."

"That…was…awesome!" Rainbow exclaimed "I've seen ponies who could match me, but never a human; although, to be fair, I've never met a human before. You and me totally have to race!"

"You're on, just don't be too upset when I beat you."

"Don't worry, I won't, since I'm gonna win."

"You think so, huh?"

"Uh yeah, seeing as how I have wings and you don't."

"I don't need wings to beat you!"

"It's like looking in a mirror, huh?"

Both girls broke from their argument to notice Herry nearby.

"What are you talking about?" Atlanta asked him.

"Oh come on, you and that pony are practically twins" Herry replied "you both have similar haircuts, you're both super fast, you're both vegetarians…"

"So we have a couple of similarities, big deal," Atlanta replied "that doesn't mean we're the same!"

"It's just kinda funny is all."

"No, it's not," Atlanta said "now don't you have something else you could be doing?"

"Fine, I guess I'll go help Athena then," Herry replied, as he walked out of the room.

"Can you believe him? Thinking that we're like twins?" Atlanta asked.

"Yeah, that's totally crazy!" Rainbow added, until she noticed she and Atlanta were both standing with their arms, or forelegs in Rainbow's case, crossed "um, I should probably go get ready for the race."

"Yeah, me too," Atlanta said, as both headed off.

* * *

As for Pinkie, she was doing what she does best; baking.

"Thanks for letting me help you cook Miss Athena ma'am," Pinkie said.

"I really didn't ask for your help, you just came in here and started touching things," Athena replied "but it is nice to have some help with the baking I guess."

"So, what are we making today? Pies? Cakes? Muffins? Muffin pie? A cake made of muffins?"

"Nope ambrosia," Athena explained "it's what gods like me eat."

"I've never heard of that," Pinkie said "and is that all you eat? You don't ever eat cake, or pancakes, or celery, or hay, or oats, or…."

"We eat other things, but ambrosia is specially made for the gods of Olympus," Athena explained.

"Ooooh, I get it...no wait, I don't."

"If you want to help, find me a tray I can put the finished stuff on."

"Okie dokie lokie," Pinkie replied, bounced over to where the trays were and grabbed one in her mouth.

"Hey Athena, you need any help in here?" Herry asked.

"Sure," Athena told him "you can help Pinkie take out the ambrosia when it's finished."

"Okay," Herry said, and went over to Pinkie, who was watching the stove "so um hey, Your name's Pinkie, huh?"

"Yup, and your name's Herry, which is funny, because you aren't!" the pink pony said with glee

"Oh I get it, Herry and 'hairy'; yeah, that's funny."

"Really? Because you didn't laugh."

"Okay, it wasn't that funny."

"So I heard you're really strong and you grew up on a farm," Pinkie said.

"That's true," Herry said "I still visit my grandma there from time to time."

"I know somepony who was strong and lived on a farm and had a grandma," Pinkie said quickly "but you two don't sound alike; also, he was red, and wore a collar, and doesn't talk much."

"You really like to talk, don't you?"

"Yup."

* * *

Meanwhile, as the teens were getting to know their pony visitors, over in Cronus' lair, the evil god was not pleased with what had happened.

"You promised me the destruction of those children, and yet, they still live, and your forces come home with their tails between their legs," Cronus said "if you can't deliver, than our deal is off!"

"Patience Cronus, I was unprepared for the kids this time, but now I've had time to study them," Chrysalis told him "we'll attack again, this time with reinforcements, and my plan to eliminate them will be put into effect."

"Let's hope so, for your sake," Cronus told her.

* * *

Next time, Twilight tries to find a connection between the Greek myths and Equestria, and Chrysalis puts her master plan into effect.


	3. Secret History of Equestria?

After their interactions with the students, the ponies decided to head to the library and check on Twilight. There, they found the princess snout first in a book, as usual, using her magic to levitate a pencil to take notes.

"Hey Twilight, what'cha reading?" Pinkie asked.

"Girls, I'm glad you came, you won't believe what I've discovered," she said to them.

"I have a feeling you're going to tell us," Rainbow commented.

"I've been reading up on these Greek gods and their history, and I've found something incredible," Twilight said "Rainbow, you know how those kids weren't surprised to learn you were a Pegasus?"

"Yeah, that was kinda odd."

"It's because Pegasi exist in this world."

"What? No way!" Rainbow exclaimed "then how come I haven't seen any?"

"And it's not only that; manticores, chimeras, griffins, hydra, even Cerberus, all of them are mentioned in these stories," Twilight told her friends happily "they even have Tartarus, and they use it for the same reason we do; locking up dangerous creatures. This Cronus character apparently escaped from there. "

"I must admit, this is quite a coincidence, darling," Rarity said.

"I don't think it's mere coincidence," Twilight told her "this could mean that these gods were somehow involved in Equestria, or vice versa. I mean, what else would explain the similarities?"

"Twins from some kind of parallel universe?" Pinkie suggested.

"No Pinkie, I'm convinced these two worlds are connected somehow, and I plan to find out how and document it. So, who's gonna help me?"

"Wow gee Twilight, I'd really love to…" Rainbow lied "but I've got this race I need to prepare for. That Atlanta girl is fast and I need to see if she's faster than me."

"And I promised to make a wonderful outfit for Neil, to go along with his other exquisite clothes," Rarity added.

"Ooh, I'll stay and help you Twilight, I don't have anything else going on," Pinkie volunteered.

"Thank you Pinkie, but if you don't want to stay, I won't force you…"

"Okay then, see ya!" Pinkie said happily as she zipped off.

Twilight watched her friends leave and sighed "well, looks like I'm doing research on my own; never thought I'd have to deal with this again."

"Hey Twilight, enjoying yourself?" Theresa asked, as she came in the room.

"Oh, hello again," Twilight replied "yes actually; I've been doing research on the Greek myths and I've found that there are many similarities to Equestria."

"Really?" Theresa asked "how can that be?"

"I don't know, but I plan to find out," Twilight told her "would you like to help me?"

"Sure, I have nothing else to do," Theresa replied and watched as Twilight moved another page with her magic "oh, you have telekinesis?"

"I have what now?"

"Telekinesis; it allows you to move things with your mind," Theresa told her "I have a limited version of it, but Persephone is teaching me to improve it."

"Sorry to disappoint you, but I just have plain old magic," Twilight told her "wait, did you just say you have powers?"

Theresa nodded "I've always had this sixth sense that allows me to see things or look into people's minds. Just recently though, I've been developing other ways of using it, like moving items."

"Wow, and I here I thought there was no magic in this world," Twilight said "perhaps meeting you today wasn't an accident."

"Well, meeting a pony princess wasn't high on my list of life goals, but I'm really glad it happened."

The two said nothing for a moment, taking in this special bond that they shared, which was promptly shattered when Jay ran in.

"Sorry to bother you, but Hermes is getting reports of a disturbance downtown," he said "I think your 'pals' are back for round two."

"Looks like duty calls," Theresa said with a sigh.

"Lead the way," Twilight said to Jay, as they headed off.

* * *

Soon the kids and heroes were gathered together in the main part of the school to discuss the problem at hand.

"I can't believe those guys are back; didn't they learn anything when we beat the tar out of them earlier?" Archie asked.

"Guess they must be gluttons for punishment," Herry suggested.

"Well we need to stop them before they hurt someone," Jay told them "come on."

"Um, little problem," Theresa interjected "what about our new friends?" she asked, gesturing to Twilight and the others "I doubt there's enough room in Herry's truck for them."

"Don't worry about us, we'll get there as soon as we can," Twilight assured her.

"I'm assuming by flying, but not all of you can do that," Odie pointed out.

"Let's just say I know a little trick that will get us in there in record time," Twilight explained "you all just go ahead."

"If you say so," Jay told her "okay gang, you heard her, let's move out."

"The kid's right Twilight, we could just fly there," Rainbow pointed out.

"Pardon me Rainbow, but perhaps you've forgotten that not all of us have the gift of flight," Rarity reminded her.

"True, but we unicorns do have the gift of teleportation," Twilight pointed out.

* * *

After a few minutes, the armored truck of Herry arrived downtown, where the villains were currently wreaking havoc.

"Yup it's those same three again," Archie commented "good, I was getting bored anyway."

"These are the guys you fought while I was doing research?" Odie asked "they look like something out of a comic book."

"Yeah, and I say we send 'em back there," Herry added, cracking his knuckles in readiness.

"Hey, it's those kids again," Hater said, taking time out from his attacks to address his cohorts.

"Remember the plan," Dr. Octopus told the others.

"I remember; I just wish we did not have to be defeated by these mere children to do it," Tiger Claw added.

"Okay, we'll give you a choice; stop attacking the city and we'll let you leave," Jay said.

"And if we choose not to?"

"Then we kick your butts," Atlanta told him.

"Hmm, a hard decision," Tiger Claw said, "I think we will have to go for the second one; destroy them!"

"Come on, we beat you losers the last time; what makes you think this will be any different?" Archie asked.

"Because we have learned from our previous mistakes," Tiger Claw assured him "and, we have brought reinforcements."

Upon saying that, a humanoid warthog & rhino suddenly emerged and tackled Herry.

"Alright, we got the strong one," Bebop said "and I thought this was gonna be hard."

"Da, is not difficult at all," Rocksteady replied, moments before the strong teen lifted up both villains and threw them aside.

"Might want to rethink your reinforcements next time," Archie replied.

With that, the two groups began battling each other. Moments later, a bright flash of light appeared as Twilight and the others teleported in.

"Alright! Looks like the fight's just started!" Rainbow said happily.

"Come on everyone," Twilight told them "with our help, we'll defeat them double time."

Indeed, the three villains found themselves pretty much outnumbered and not only having to deal with 7 fast and skilled teens, but four ponies, a ninja, and a spider-themed hero. They soon realized they would not win; but then again, that wasn't the point of their mission anyway.

"I believe it is time for us to make our retreat," Tiger Claw addressed the others.

"Works for me," Hater replied "later ladies, good luck catching up with us" he added, as he ran off down the street.

"Does he really think he's gonna get away that easy?" Atlanta asked "come on Theresa, let's cut him off."

Theresa nodded and followed her friend as Atlanta used her super speed to easily catch up to the skeletal villain.

"Hi, hope you weren't planning on getting away," Atlanta told him.

Hater responded by firing lightning bolts at her, and when she avoided them, ran down a nearby alley.

"Oh no you don't!" Atlanta said, as she and Theresa pursued him down the alley.

Meanwhile, the heroes had surrounded the remaining villains.

"Okay tiger boy, talk," Jay told him, his sword at the ready "we know your boss Chrysalis is working with Cronus. Where are they and what are they planning?"

"Sorry, I'm afraid I can't give out that information; but rest assured, you'll find out soon enough."

"Look furball, you'd better tell us what's going on, or I'm gonna…" Rainbow began.

"Sorry little pony, but I'm afraid we must be leaving now."

"Oh yeah, and how exactly do you plan to do that?" Herry asked, "in case you haven't checked, we've got you surrounded."

"True, but we have more than a few tricks up our sleeve," Tiger Claw replied "now!"

Before anyone could react, Bebop threw several of his tiny bombs to the ground, emitting clouds of smoke. As the heroes coughed, Twilight and Rainbow did their best to use their wings to blow the smoke away. But the villains had already escaped.

"Terrific, now what do we do?" Archie asked.

"Let's go back to the school and talk with Hermes, maybe he can help us figure out where Cronus is holed up," Odie suggested.

"Okay, come on then," Jay said, moments before Theresa & Atlanta returned to the scene "hey, did you get him?"

"Nah, he gave us the slip," Atlanta replied "he's a lot more clever than his appearance lets on."

"Did you get anything out of the others?" Theresa asked.

"Nope; we're going back to the school to plan our next move," Jay told her.

"Sounds good, let's go," Atlanta replied.

So the teens headed back to Herry's truck, frustrated over their failure to capture the mysterious villains wreaking havoc across the city. As they walked back, Theresa turned to her fellow female and gave her a sinister grin, which Atlanta gave right back, as their eyes briefly glowed blue…

* * *

Next time, the villains plan is put into effect, but will they be too late to stop it? And Twilight learns about Greek mythology from a very surprising source.


	4. Discord and Deception

Twilight was still curious about the attack earlier, but she put it in the back of her mind and continued her research on ancient Greece, still convinced it was tied to Equestria somehow.

"Hey Theresa, are you going to help me finish my research?" she asked, seeing the girl walk by.

"What?" a confused Theresa asked "I mean, oh yeah, that. Maybe later, I've got something else I have to do," she added, before walking away.

 _That's odd, for a moment there, she acted like she didn't know what I was talking about_ Twilight thought _well, I can't worry about that for now. I have to get this done; I just wish somepony would help me._

Twilight poured over the books she had, but found no connection "ugh! Maybe I'm wrong, maybe it is just a coincidence," she said.

"Studying Greek history are you?" a voice said from the book "ahh that takes me back."

A confused Twilight looked down in her book and was surprised at whom she saw there.

"What in the…Discord? What are you doing here?"

"Oh come now Twilight, do you really think there's anywhere I can't go?" the spirit of chaos asked her, before emerging from the page of the book "oh, I do so hate coming out of books like that; it leaves me all crinkly," he added, before he appeared full of creases and started moving up and down, making accordion noises as he did.

"So you came all this way just to toy with me, is that it?"

"Not at all," Discord told her, restoring himself to normal "Celestia mentioned you were traveling to different worlds, trying to foil an evil plot, and I figured I'd do a little sightseeing," he added, before producing a tablet and taking a picture. "I was hoping for something with a little more scenery."

"Well, as glad as I am to see you, which is very little, I'm in the middle of something here," Twilight told him.

"Ah yes, your study of the gods of Mt. Olympus," Discord commented "Not a fan; they can be such buzzkills. Well, except Bacchus, now he knew how to party," he said, before appearing in a toga with a noisemaker "although his parties could be a little...extreme; once, I went to one, and when I woke up, I was in the labyrinth of Crete. The Minotaur there was not happy to see me either, let me tell you."

"Wait a minute, how do you know the Greek gods?" Twilight asked.

"Only because they're the reason I ended up in Equestria in the first place," Discord told her.

"What? How is that possible?"

"It was just a little misunderstanding; seems there already was a being of Chaos, some girl called Eris or something, and I guess they didn't like having two creatures of chaos on the loose. And yet there's not one god for everything, is there? I mean, Hermes represents like, three things, and they didn't bother him!"

"Could we get back on topic please?"

"Yes of course; anyway, I tried to convince the gods that I should represent chaos, not Eris; but her uncle was Zeus dad or something, so I got banished. It's all politics up there. Anyway, I ended up in Equestria, and, missing my old Greek home, created facsimiles of the mythical creatures I knew back then."

"If that's the case, why isn't any of this in the official history of Equestria?"

"Well, as they say, history is written by the winners, and I didn't exactly have a victory, now did I?" Discord said, turning briefly back into his old statue form.

"I don't know…" Twilight said warily "I want to believe you, but you have been known to stretch the truth a little."

"My dear Twilight, I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about," Discord said, as he stretched a rubber "Truth" between his hands.

"Uh huh," Twilight replied, giving him a disbelieving look.

Discord noticed her look and nervously tossed the "Truth" away where it landed with a dog bark. "I am shocked that you could possibly believe that I would make this up; and here I thought we were friends," he said, now adorned in a t-shirt featuring Twilight and holding a picture of the two together.

"We are, but you have been known to, how can I put this nicely…" Twilight began "mess with ponies for your own amusement."

"True, I do enjoy confusing ponies, but I can assure you this is absolutely true" he said "scouts honor," he added, now appearing a boy scouts uniform and roasting marshmallows over a fire.

"Well, thank you Discord,"

"You're quite welcome; ooh, look at the time," Discord replied, looking at a large hourglass he created "well, this has been fun, but I do have places to go, ponies to see. Haven't seen Fluttershy in a while, think I'll pop by and see what she's up to; toodles."

Before Twilight could ask him anything else, the chaos spirit disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

"I suppose Discord could have been telling the truth about what he said," she commented "but there's only one way to know for sure."

* * *

While Twilight continued her search for answers, at the dorm of the school, Jay was working out when he felt a familiar set of arms wrap around him.

"Oh hey Theresa, what's up?" he asked.

"I missed you Jay, did you miss me?"

"How could you miss me, you didn't go anywhere," Jay noted.

"Shut up and kiss me," Theresa replied and kissed him as hard as she could. Though he had kissed the redhead several times, Jay felt weird this time, as though something was different.

"Whoa, hang on Theresa," Jay said, pushing her back.

"What's the matter Jay? Don't you love me?"

"You're just being a little more aggressive than usual, that's all," Jay told her.

"Well that's because I love you so much," Theresa told him, grabbing him closer "and I want to spend all my time with you. Don't you want the same?"

"Of course, yeah…" Jay said nervously "but, I just remembered, I promised Herry something. Can we take a raincheck?"

"Of course, I'll be waiting for you," Theresa told him as he ran off. Once he was out of her sight, her smile turned into a wicked smirk.

* * *

"I'm telling you, Theresa was all over me," Jay explained to Archie, who he had run into the hallway.

"Hmm, that's weird, Atlanta was being unusually affectionate towards me too," Archie told him "saying how much she loved me and whatnot."

"That doesn't sound like Atlanta."

"Yeah, no kidding," Archie replied "it took all my will just to get away from her. And even then, I still had a hard time leaving."

"I don't like this," Jay said "something seems off."

"So you don't think it's because they think we're handsome?" Archie asked.

"No; I hate to say it, but I think something more sinister is at work here."

"Sinister? Like what?"

"I don't know," Jay told him "but we'd better talk to the others about this."

* * *

Meanwhile, back at the headquarters of Cronus, he and Chrysalis were discussing the results of their recent schemes as they made their way through the base.

"I must admit Chrysalis, when you first proposed your plan to me, I was skeptical," the time controlling god said "but everything is working as you planned."

"And with any luck, those fools won't suspect a thing until it's too late," Chrysalis said.

"And you two will have front row seats for when that happens," Cronus said, stopping and looking down in front of him

Lying on the ground sat Theresa & Atlanta; both girls had rope securely bound around their wrists and ankles, as well as secured around their chests, to anchor their arms to their sides. Both also had a cloth tied in their mouth to muffle their protests.

As they struggled against their restraints, Theresa recalled what led to their current predicament…

" _Okay pal, you might as well give up," Atlanta said, as she and Theresa cornered Lord Hater in a nearby alley "there's two of us and one of you."_

" _And we're not letting you out of here," Theresa added, her nunchucks at the ready._

" _Oh please girls, spare me!" Hater said, throwing himself face first on the ground "it wasn't my fault. The other villains made me do it!"_

" _Yeah right, like we're gonna believe that," Atlanta said, unconvinced._

" _I just don't wanna get hurt, so you can take me in."_

" _Gee, that was easy," Theresa commented, as both girls approached the prostrate Hater._

" _Yeah, some villain this guy turned out to be," Atlanta added "come on, let's get him and take back to the others."_

 _But, as the girls approached him, Hater jumped to life and grabbed one of their ankles "psyche!" he said, delivering a mild current through their bodies, enough to knock them unconscious._

That was the last thing she remembered; after regaining consciousness, she discovered herself and Atlanta bound & gagged and the two had been trying to free themselves ever since. Seeing Cronus caused both girls to give their captor an angry glare.

"Terribly sorry the accommodations aren't to your liking," Cronus said mockingly "but then again, your comfort is the last thing on my mind."

He reached down and pulled down the gags on both girls.

"You won't get away with this!" Theresa shouted.

"Foolish girl, we already have," Chrysalis told her "your friends have no idea you've been replaced."

"So you must be Chrysalis," Atlanta said "you're even uglier than Twilight described you!"

"You should hold your tongue, you little brat!" Chrysalis replied "well no matter; it will be over soon for the both of you."

"You do know our friends are going to realize we're missing," Theresa told them.

"Quite possibly," Cronus told her "but, by then, Chrysalis' Changelings will have done their work."

"Changelings?" Atlanta asked.

"Even as we speak, two of my Changelings have taken your place," Chrysalis explained "they have been ordered to seek out your boyfriends and drain the love they have for you from them."

"I suspect your friends will eventually learn the truth, but by then, they'll be far too weak to fight," Cronus added "thus allowing me to easily rid myself of them and the rest of your accursed friends."

"That's it? That's your big evil plan?" Atlanta asked, slightly mockingly "Oh man, that is literally the dumbest thing I've ever heard."

"Maybe, but Jay & Archie are still boys," Theresa reminded her.

"So?"

"So, if they think we're being extra nice to them, they won't be thinking straight," Theresa explained "it could take them a long time to realize that we've been replaced."

"Oh yeah; that actually makes sense."

"Yes, your human relationships will turn out to be your downfall," Cronus commented, then replaced both girls' gags before they could say anything else.

"Enjoy the rest of your stay here," he told them "because once your friends arrive, the two of you will only live long enough to watch me destroy them."

With that, he and Chrysalis left the room, leaving the two teens to struggle for all they were worth.

* * *

Meanwhile, back at Olympus High, Twilight was hoping to get answers to her question by asking someone who had all the answers.

"Yes, the creature named Discord did exist in our time," the queen of the gods told the young alicorn, as she tended her garden.

"So he was telling the truth," Twilight commented.

"Yes, from what you've told me, it seems you and your friends have managed what even we gods could not do; to tame his chaotic impulses," Hera replied "perhaps if we had tried, we would not have been forced to banish him."

"At that time, we believed nothing could ever curtail his desire for extreme chaos, and so we had to do what we could to protect the human race," Hera continued "but perhaps it was for the best; now Discord has learned the error of his ways and has embraced friendship."

"Wow, this answers a lot of questions, but raises even more," Twilight said.

"That is often the way of the gods," Hera told her "perhaps those other questions are ones you will find the answers to one day. For now, I believe you are needed elsewhere."

"Yes, I should check up on my friends." Twilight said "plus, Chrysalis hasn't made a move yet, and that worries me. Thank you for the help Miss Hera, it will be extremely valuable to Equestria."

"I hope so," Hera said, as Twilight trotted off.

* * *

"So let me get this straight; Theresa is being extra affectionate with you, and you think something's wrong with her," Neil asked Jay "are you sure there's not something wrong with you?"

"Joke all you want Neil, but I could tell something was off," Jay told him "it's weird, but everytime we kissed, it felt like she was sucking energy out of me, you know? Even now I don't feel right."

"That's how kissing is supposed to feel," Neil pointed out.

"No he's right, I feel weird too," Archie told him "and besides, Atlanta's not really known for being all affectionate like that."

"Well, if you want, I could hook up a computer program that could scan both their biorhythms and check for any anomalies," Odie suggested.

"Thanks, but I think we'll just have Twilight give them a quick check with her magic," Jay told him.

"Oh sure, why bother with an expensive computer program when you can just have a magical princess pony do it for you?" Odie replied, in an angrily sarcastic fashion as his friends walked off.

"It's cool Odie; next time there's a problem, we'll do your thing," Herry assured him.

* * *

"So you say she's been acting weird, huh?" Twilight asked, after meeting up with Jay and the others "hmm, come to think of it, she did seem distracted when I talked to her earlier, almost like she didn't know what I was talking about."

"And earlier today, I asked Atlanta if she was ready for our race, and she had no idea what I was saying," Rainbow added.

Twilight thought "I'm sure this is tied into that battle we had earlier," she said "it seemed too easy, almost as if they wanted to lose. And why hasn't Chrysalis made any attempt to destroy us yet? I wonder..."

"What is it darling?" Rarity asked.

"I want to test a theory I have," Twilight replied, "bring the girls here."

A few minutes later, everyone was gathered in the main room of the school.

"This is crazy, there's nothing wrong with me!" Theresa protested angrily "so maybe I was a bit more affectionate than usual, is that wrong?"

"That's what I was saying," Neil chimed in.

"And excuse me for not remembering about some stupid race, but I've got other things on my mind," Atlanta added.

 _I think I'm right, but I'd better make sure..._ Twilight thought before she addressed the girls "you're right, it was wrong of them to accuse you over such flimsy evidence," she said "there is obviously nothing wrong with you."

"Thank you," Atlanta said.

"Oh, Theresa, do you remember the discussion we had earlier?" Twilight asked.

"Um…discussion?" Theresa replied nervously "oh yes, right, that discussion about…something…um, magic, right?"

"Wrong!" Twilight replied and fired a blast of magic at the girl.

"Twilight, what do you think you're doing?" Jay asked.

"You guys were right, the girls were acting strange," Twilight explained "because they're not the girls, they're Changelings!"

Everyone looked as the magic beam transformed Theresa back into her true Changeling form.

"Ew!" Neil said.

"What the heck is that thing?" Odie asked.

"One of Chrysalis' servants," Twilight explained "they have the power to take any shape and use it to feed off someone's love for that person."

Seeing the jig was up, the other Changeling switched back into it's true form as well.

"Aw man, I was kissing that?" Archie asked, disgusted.

"All right you bug thing, where's the real Theresa?" Jay asked "and you'd better tell the truth, or…" he added, getting his sword at the ready.

"Your friends are prisoners of our queen, and you'll never find them!" it said, before transforming into Jay and running off, with the other one turning into Herry and also retreating.

"After them!" Jay ordered, but Twilight held out her hoof.

"No, let them go; I can use my magic to track them back to their lair," she explained "I guess my hunch was right, but I still don't understand what's going on. Why send only two Changelings and why disguise them as the girls? What's the ultimate plan here?"

"We can ask them when we get there," Jay said, before he grabbed his head and slowly went to his knees.

"Uh Jay, you feeling okay buddy?" Herry asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine, it's just a little fatigue," he replied "I'll work through it. In the meantime, get everyone ready. I'm sure Cronus knows we're coming, and I doubt he'll let us in with open arms."

* * *

Soon, the magic trail led the heroes to the large stone wall, that served as the entrance to Cronus' lair.

"Okay everypony, prepare yourselves," Twilight said "we have no idea what awaits us in there."

Jay meanwhile, slumped down to his knees, with Archie joining him.

"If you two guys aren't up for this, you can just wait here," Odie suggested.

"It's fine," Jay said "I don't know why, but I feel so weak all of a sudden."

"You probably should take something for that Jay, you wouldn't want to fall asleep during battle, now would you?" asked a familiar voice.

"Cronus," Jay said, seeing the rogue god nearby "let the girls go."

"Why don't you come over here and try and make me?"

"With pleasure," Jay said, running into action, but suddenly, he felt weird and fell to his knees.

"What's the matter Jay? Feeling weak?" Cronus asked mockingly "that's not going to be much good for fighting."

"In case you haven't noticed, there's still a lot more of us," Herry said, punching his fist into his hand.

"And there's us as well," Twilight noted, as her pony pals showed they were ready for battle.

"Oh indeed," Cronus replied, "but you really didn't think I'd come unprepared, did you?"

Suddenly, the band of villains surrounded the heroes; Twilight and her friends moved to act, when something grabbed them.

"Hey, put me down!" Rainbow yelled.

"Unhand me you uncouth ruffian!" Rarity shouted.

"Whee!" Pinkie said happily.

"Ugh, can't move…" Twilight grunted, before she noticed she and her friends were being held tight by several, oddly colored giants.

"Ahh Twilight Sparkle, so nice of you and your friends to join us…for your doom!" Chrysalis said, as she emerged from the shadows.

* * *

In the final chapter, Twilight plays a trump card of her own, and a surprise move helps turn the tide of battle.


	5. Tricks and Tricks alike

Unaware of what their friends were currently dealing with, Theresa & Atlanta were still attempting to free themselves. While Therese struggled with her bonds, she noticed Atlanta seemed to be making some progress.

After a few minutes, Atlanta pulled her hands free of the ropes, then worked on undoing the knot around the ropes around her arms. Once that fell free, she untied her ankles before yanking off her gag.

"Hold on Theresa, I'll have you free in a minute," she said, as she worked on untying her fellow captive.

"Come on, we need to get out of here and warn the others," Atlanta said, but Theresa stopped her "hey, what gives?"

"Think about it; if we try to escape now, we might be recaptured, and then we're no good to anyone."

"So what, you just want us to stay here and let our friends fall into a trap?" Atlanta asked angrily "no way am I gonna let that happen."

"Just calm down," Theresa told her "Cronus doesn't know that we got free, and that gives us the element of surprise."

"Okay, so what do you suggest?"

"First, see if you can find where they put our weapons, then race back here," Theresa explained "but you might not like the next part."

* * *

Meanwhile, back at in the lair, Cronus & Chrysalis were gloating over their success.

"Things didn't go the way you expected, eh Twilight?" Chrysalis said.

"It's not over yet," Twilight said defiantly "you haven't won!"

"That's where you're wrong; once Cronus deals with his enemies, I shall rid myself of you and your pony pals once and for all. I did notice that two of you are missing, but no matter, I will deal with them in time."

"Why don't you come over here and say that?!" Rainbow said angrily, struggling in the grip of one of Cronus's giants.

"Well, enough standing around, I have enemies to destroy," Cronus said, then turned to two more giants "go and retrieve the prisoners, I'm sure they want a front row seat for this."

"Weakened or not, I'm not going to let you get away with this," Jay said, his sword at the ready "you'll have to fight me."

"That's what I was planning on," Cronus explained "although in your weakened state, it won't be much of a challenge. Oh well; I never really liked challenges much, anyway. Keep them from interfering," he ordered the assorted villains.

Dr. Octopus, Hater, Tiger Claw, Bebop & Rocksteady closed in on the other Titans.

"Um, if anyone has a plan, now would be a great time to mention it," Neil said.

"Relax, I handled these goons before and I can do it again" Herry said confidently, before two of Doc Ock's tentacles shot out and grabbed his arms, then lifted him into the air.

"Okay, now what?" Neil asked.

Moments later, the giants returned, shoving the bound & gagged Theresa & Atlanta.

"Ah good, my guests have arrived," Cronus said "now the fun can really begin."

Generating one of his scythes, Cronus approached Jay.

The young hero managed to block every attempted blow, but he knew that he couldn't hold out much longer. Finally, one swing missed, allowing Cronus to knock the sword from his hand, then place the tip of his scythe mere inches from his throat.

"Oh, how I've waited for this," he said.

Observing the whole affair, Theresa turned her head towards Atlanta and gave a nod. The girl nodded in response and both quickly slipped their hands out of their bonds, which they had loosely retied in order to give the impression they were still prisoners.

Theresa then flipped upwards, kicking the giant behind her in the jaw, then taking out her nunchucks, which Atlanta had managed to retrieve, hit the giant in the head, knocking him out.

That was enough for Cronus to turn his attention away from Jay "what?"

"Looks like you're not the only one who's good at tricking people," Theresa commented after removing her gag.

"No matter, I still have the upper hand," Cronus said "destroy all of them!"

"Um Twilight, now might be a good time to, oh I don't know, use your magic!" Rainbow yelled.

"Not yet."

"What do you mean 'not yet?'" Rainbow asked "when are you planning to, after Chrysalis blasts you?"

"Your rainbow friend is right, why aren't you even trying to escape?" Chrysalis asked, somewhat confused

"As was said earlier, you villains aren't the only ones who can deceive people," Twilight told her "we were just pretending to be helpless to lure you into a false sense of security. But we have a surprise of our own, right about…now!"

However, nothing happened.

"Um, now!" Twilight said, sounding slightly nervous "now! Okay, quit fooling around guys, you can come in now."

Chrysalis laughed evilly "a good trick Twilight, but a futile one," she said, charging up the magic in her horn "now I'll see to it that you will no longer bother me again!"

The other ponies watched as the evil queen prepared to strike, but then, a blast of something appeared over her eyes.

"Ahh! What trickery is this!" she shouted.

"Not trickery, webbing, courtesy of your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man," Spidey said, as he swung into the room.

"You two sure took your time getting here," Twilight said.

"Sorry, but Ben and I had a hard time finding the place," Spidey explained "not all of us have magic tracking spells."

"Better late than never, I suppose," Twilight said, and fired a magic blast at the giant holding her, freeing herself; she then flew around the cave, firing blasts at the other giants and freeing her friends.

"Cronus, do something!" Chrysalis yelled.

"Don't just stand there you fools, get them!" Cronus ordered his giants.

"Giants huh? Then I'll need a giant alien to deal with them, namely Humongosaur," Ben said, before transforming into Crashhopper "aw man, stupid Omnitrix! Oh well, I guess this will do," he said, and used his advanced jumping skills to jump on the back of one giant, sending him to the floor.

"Can't catch me," Crashopper said, as two more giant ran at him, but he jumped aside and they collided.

Meanwhile, the rest of the villains were faring equally as bad. Herry had managed to use his strength to throw aside Doctor Octopus, while Spider-Man was swinging around to avoid Rocksteady.

"Quit swinging and face me directly," the Russian rhino demanded.

"You got it, horn head," Spidey said, and landed on the ground, only for the rhino to charge him.

"Question, how do you stop a rhino from charging? Take away his credit card," Spidey said "or, you can trip him up," he added, shooting a web line, then pulling it taut, causing the rhino to trip and slide across the floor.

"You may have handled him, but your fancy web moves ain't gonna deal with me," Bebop said.

"Yeah, but I am!" Rainbow said, and the mutant warthog only turned around for a minute before a blue blur slammed into him. Rainbow then zoomed around and slammed into him several more times, before finally, he could take no more.

"Good job," Spidey said.

"Hey, I've been looking forward to kicking some flank since we got here," Rainbow admitted.

In the confusion of battle, the two Titan girls had managed to reunite with their friends and were checking on them.

"Are you the real Atlanta, or another imposter?" Archie asked, resulting in the spiky haired girl punching him in the arm "ow! Guess that answers my question."

"Yeah, but just in case you have any doubts," Atlanta added, before kissing him.

"Oh yeah, that's definitely you," Archie said "you kiss way better than that thing disguised as you, ow!" he said, as Atlanta punched his arm again.

"You okay?" Theresa asked Jay.

"I don't know; that Changeling thing took a lot out of me, literally."

"Well then, let me see if I can't help fix that," she said, and pulled Jay in for a kiss.

"Hmm, I'd say that did it," Jay replied, after they broke.

"Too bad it will be the last thing you ever do," Cronus said, and both teens noticed he was right nearby, scythe raised and ready to strike.

Before he could, however, something blasted the weapon from his hand. He turned, angrily to the source and saw Twilight, an angry and determined look on her face, her horn glowing with power.

"This is unacceptable! I will not be defeated by mere ponies!" Cronus yelled.

"Uh news flash pal, you just have been," Rainbow said.

Cronus retrieved his fallen scythe and rushed the ponies, but Twilight easily blasted it from his hands with magic. Rainbow then kicked him several times in midair.

"You fiendish ruffian, take this!" Rarity said, laying a few of her own kicks on him.

Before he knew what happened, Cronus was on the ground, holding his stomach, with Twilight using her magic to trap him in a bubble. Cronus pounded angrily on the bubble as the kids approached, happy to finally have their foe captured.

"We so have to learn how to do that," Odie said.

"It's all over Cronus, you're taking a one-way trip back to Tartarus," Jay told him.

Cronus instead said nothing, but grinned at them.

"He sure is happy for someone who's gonna be locked up for the rest of his immortal life," Herry noted.

"Yeah, there's no anger, no threats, anything," Jay said "it seems almost too easy."

"Oh, quit being so negative," Neil replied "we got Cronus and there's no way he can escape. What could possibly happen?"

The teens then watched as Cronus appeared to change before their eyes, the form of the evil god replaced with that of a misshapen, black insect-like being.

"You had to say it, didn't you?" an angry Archie asked Neil.

"A Changeling? Then what happened to the real one?" Twilight asked.

Suddenly, Cronus's evil laughter broke out through the base, and everyone saw the villain and Chrysalis on the other side, standing before a large black portal.

"Sorry to disappoint you, but I know the best time to cut and run," Cronus said "until next time; oh, and I underestimated you ponies, a mistake I assure you I will not make again."

"Farewell Twilight," Chrysalis said "next time we meet, you will not be so lucky!"

"Oh no you don't!" Jay said, and the teens and ponies rushed him, but he used his powers to conjure up a thick fog.

Twilight used her horn to create a light in the fog,, but it soon dissipated, and none of the villains were left, save for the Changeling still stuck in the magic orb.

"I hate it when he does that," Odie said.

Twilight undid her magic orb, and the Changeling flapped it's wings to keep afloat.

"Get out of here, go back to your queen," Twilight ordered him and the Changeling said nothing and flew off.

"What are you doing? Let's follow him and get those guys!" Rainbow exclaimed.

"That portal of Cronus's could open up anywhere, they could be halfway around the world for all we know," Jay explained

"Besides, we stopped their scheme," Twilight told her pony friend "that's what counts most."

"Well, I guess that wraps things up," Pinkie said "who wants cake?"

* * *

Later, the heroes went back to Olympus High to wrap up their adventure

"This day certainly didn't end up the way I expected," Twilight said "I came here to foil an evil scheme, and I ended up learning something new about my homeland, and meeting a group of great new friends. It's just too bad we weren't able to stop Chrysalis from recruiting Cronus to her cause."

"If Cronus is helping her, then we'll help you," Jay said "our mission is to stop him, and if he's got allies, I can't think of anyone else I'd rather have helping us do so."

"Then it looks like we'll be spending more time with each other," Twilight said happily

"Oh, how wonderful, that will give me the chance to make more outfits for dear Neil," Rarity added, then used her magic to bring in a shirt on a mannequin "ta-da! Beautiful, is it not? Admittedly, it's not what I'm used to making, but a good seamstress can learn to overcome her limitations."

"It's very lovely," Twilight said.

"Yeah, if you're a human I guess," Rainbow said, "anyway, now that all of that is settled, I believe there's the matter of a little race; unless you're not the real Atlanta."

"Oh, I am, and you're gonna lose!"

"Ha, you wish!"

* * *

A few minutes later, the two took their positions on the running track inside the school.

"Okay; on your marks, get set, go!" Twilight yelled, levitating a stopwatch before her.

Both girls zoomed around the track, as quickly as they could, with each one gaining but never seeming to pass the other. As Rainbow increased her speed, so did Atlanta, and so it went.

"Wow, Dashie's going faster than normal," Pinkie observed.

"Yeah, but Atlanta hasn't lost a step," Odie added "this is anyone's race."

It came down to the last lap, and both girls gave it everything they had, but ultimately, Rainbow managed to make it across first.

"The winner, Rainbow Dash!" Twilight said happily.

"Oh yeah, I did it!" Rainbow said happily "I won!" she added, before turning to Atlanta. "Hey, great race out there; you really pushed me to my limits. If I had lost, it would've been an honor to lose to someone like you."

"Thanks," Atlanta said "remember that for next time when I beat you."

"What next time?"

"I totally want a rematch, and next time, you'll be the one losing."

"Why do you deserve a rematch?"

"Um, hello, you've got wings and I don't," Atlanta noted.

"So? You think I couldn't beat you on foot?" Rainbow asked "cause I'm fast on land, and in the air!"

"Please, I could so beat you on the ground," Atlanta told her.

"Could not!"

"Could too."

"No way!"

"Um, yes way!"

The rest of their friends just groaned as the two argued over what happened.

* * *

Next time:

Deciding to rely on outside help for their latest scheme, the members of H.A.T.E opt to obtain services of the self-proclaimed "ghost with the most." To that end, they abduct Lydia Deetz to use as a bargaining chip to force Beetlejuice to use his powers on their enemies. Thus, when a series of bizarre incidents plague her teammates, Twilight Sparkle and several of them decide to investigate, and their probe will take them to a mysterious place known as "the Neitherworld." It'll be fright, hilarity, and some peril in "Twilight in Neitherland."


End file.
